SI accused of assaulting 15-yr-old

At a time when increasing crimes against women call for effective policing, a sub-inspector attached to the Periyapatna police station in the district has been accused of assaulting a minor girl who had knocked on his doors, seeking protection following death threats.

The matter came to light when the girl, Pooja, 15, complained to Deputy Commissioner C Shikha during the monthly phone-in programme held at her office on Thursday.

Pooja alleged that sub-inspector Puneeth kicked her with his shoes on when she went to the police station to lodge a complaint against the death threat over family property.

The girl recalled that she had decided to seek help from the police because her parents—both working as masons—were scared to step out of the house. The family owns five acres of agricultural land besides a house. But neighbours were trying to usurp the property, the girl said.

Troubles began for the family ever since Pooja’s elder brother went missing under mysterious circumstances five years ago.

He was said to be in love with a girl at that time and remains untraced to this day. The deputy commissioner, who gave a patient hearing to the girl, instructed DySP (Hunsur sub-division) Jayaram to look into the matter.

Mysore SP Abhinav Khare also instructed the DySP to investigate the allegations and submit a report within 24 hours.

Action will be taken against the officer if the report finds him guilty, the SP added.

Untouchability in village

In another startling revelation at the phone-in programme, D V Manjunath, a farmer from Kuppegala near Siddaramanahundi, the native place of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, alleged that untouchability was still prevalent in the village.

Dalits in the village were not allowed to enter the Anjaneya Swamy temple—run by the Muzrai department—Marigudi, hotels and barber shops.

Although the government rule stipulates that a Dalit should be one of the three sanctioned cooks for the midday meal scheme, the Government Higher Primary School in the village has ignored it.

The deputy commissioner promised to send a team of officials to the village within a week to address the issue.